Official MLBlog of the Kansas City Royals front office.

Ned Yost media session: June 24

Manager Ned Yost met with the media today before the final game of the St. Louis Cardinals series. The lineup had a few changes with Yuniesky Betancourt and Eric Hosmer resting today. “We are giving him (Hosmer) a break today. It’s hot out there, they have been going hard and Yuni has an off-day today, as well. We have three catchers, so we are going to take advantage of letting Pena DH,” said Yost. Betancourt has been one of the productive hitters on the team, which could be tough letting him have an off-day. Yost said, “It is tough sitting Yuni, but this is a tough right-hander. Falu came up and did a great job with us last time and it’s a chance to get another left-handed bat in there on a hot day.”

Catcher Salvador Perez has two mentors on the team, Humberto Quintero and Brayan Pena to help him. Yost said, “Quintero especially with nine years of Major League experience can help. The really cool thing about Perez is that he is always asking questions, he is always watching and always paying attention. You can turn around in a game and he will be talking to the coaches about situations. He is a kid that seeks knowledge and wants to get better.” Having Perez back on the field is exciting for the Royals and he has already made a great comeback with hitting a blast in his first game back.

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